


Sparks

by happycemetery



Series: Iron Dad [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Action & Romance, Dad!Tony Stark, M/M, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Protective Tony Stark, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-03-27 05:26:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13874100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happycemetery/pseuds/happycemetery
Summary: Finding yourself in the world, dealing with inner demons, and trying for a shot at love are all hard enough when you're a normal person. How much crazier would it be when you're an Avenger and the son of Tony Stark?(Sequel to "Pulse". Read first.)





	1. Prologue: Press Conference

**Author's Note:**

> (Make sure you read the Tony centric "Pulse" first to find out how Iron Man became Iron Dad!)
> 
> At last the sequel has landed, and now we're following Andrew a little more grown up! There's some more father/son moments, along with some action, romance, and a dash of Spider-Man!

~

Tony Stark was in one of the many places he thrived: front and center at a podium and running his mouth with an air of absolute nonchalance and confidence. He had the press eating out of the palm of his hand as always, and Andrew watched on dutifully from the side of the small stage. Being the son of Tony Stark had its perks and its drawbacks. As if his life hadn't flipped around enough with him gaining powers, it became even more changed when it became publicly known that the billionaire-philanthropist-hero had adopted a teenage son. Andrew found himself thrown into the limelight. And it had been awkward and uncomfortable in the beginning, but Andrew ended up falling into the roll quite nicely. The seventeen-year-old came to like the attention to a degree; just sometimes how he was supposed to act or certain "Stark" responsibilities were a chore.

Being at a press conference, for instance, meant Andrew had to "dress up", and being in a suit and tie with his usually disheveled hair styled neatly was less than desired. Though Andrew pulled off looking quite impeccable and down right a young heartthrob all decked out. The boy may not have been Tony's biological son, but he definitely looked like Tony's mini in instances like these.

"...and that brings us to the last topic on the agenda I know you all are dying to hear about." Tony's words finally perked Andrew's interest. The teen knew what was coming, and he started buzzing with anticipation. "So I'm quite confident in assuming that none of you here live under a rock:  _so_ as you all know, my son was involved in an attempted kidnapping last week."

Andrew bit at the inside of his cheek to keep an amuse grin from erupting at his features.  _Attempted_ kidnapping was right. He kept his attention on his dad, but he could feel the eyes of reporters on him now. The flashes of cameras going off in hopes of capturing his reaction to the ordeal being brought up.

"Ballsy. I'll give the culprits that." Tony went on. "But ultimately very very  _very_ stupid. I know there aren't any details out there, and I'm not really about to give out many details of what went down, but I would like to take this time to address any other would-be child abductors out there." Tony focused his eyes on one of the cameras. "There are better ways to try to get money out of me or to piss me off. Taking my son ended up badly for these morons, and it would end badly for you too. See, their miscalculation was thinking they only had to worry about  _me_ fighting to get him back. And of course I would have. But here's one big detail for you: I didn't have to. Get over here, Drew." Tony gestured in a more lighthearted manner.

Andrew gave a little nod and put on his game face as he walked across the stage. He stood beside his father and held his hand out in greeting to the reporters and flashed a winning smile. Andrew didn't have a problem with this attention; because finally, the fun part of the press conference was about to happen.

"So there's more to my boy here," Tony placed his hand on Andrew's shoulder, "than him being a smart, talented, goodhearted, and devastatingly handsome young man."

Andrew couldn't hold off from rolling his eyes.

"He didn't need me swooping in to save him. He can hold his own. And maybe if I had made this announcement earlier, those asshats rotting in a jail cell probably would have thought twice about their little plan. We've been keeping this pretty low key, but now I think it's time... Those reports some of you have been making about that blue little bullet of light zipping through the sky and streets and taking care of the odd crime here and there in our city. That little light has a name: Pulse. And I'm proud to say that it's my son."

Andrew grinned when Tony signaled him with a nod, and Andrew happily let his energy rush outward, washing his body in a blue glow.

The room interrupted in a flurry of camera flashes and reporters' voices all jumbling together to get their shocked questions through.

"Hold on, hold on. I know." Tony held up his hands in a calming gesture. "Questions in a second. But first I just need to lay one more thing on you people today. A one-two punch, if you will.  I'd also like to announce Pulse here as the newest Avenger..."

Andrew swelled with excitement finally hearing his father say the words.

"...trainee." Tony finished.

Andrew's smile fell into a disbelieving glare directed to his dad. "Trainee?" He questioned indignantly, his glow falling away.

Tony smirked.

 


	2. Disappointment Dread

_~Two years later~_

The large structures stood prominent out against the flat nature that surrounded them. A small lake and a sea of green grass and trees surrounding landing pads and the interconnected buildings with sleek architectural lines of light gray and glass. It was the new Avenger's Facility. It was home. And Andrew Stark was happy to be back.

The nineteen-year-old practically sprinted out of the freshly landed small private plane. The automated stairs hadn't yet fully retracted down to the ground, but Andrew was in too much of a hurry to bother with stairs anyway. Simply clad in a battered up Misfits t-shirt and jeans and with a red backpack slipped on, the young man leapt through the open plane doorway and let his blue glow of energy wash over him. The force of the energy was immediately manipulated to allow Andrew to take flight. He stayed low to the ground, just about three meters in the air as he swiftly propelled himself toward a lesser used side entrance reserved for the facilities' main residents like himself. His sneakered feet landed precisely outside the door, and his glow extinguished. As he was being scanned by security, Andrew impatiently bounced on his toes and scratched his fingers through the top of his short tousled hair. Hair that had recently been buzzed shorter at the sides, leaving the wide strip of longer hair down the middle to serve as an slack messy fauxhawk.

_"Confirmation."_  Friday's female Irish voice sounded, and the door clicked unlock.  _"Welcome home, Andrew."_

"Yeah thanks," Andrew said dismissively. "Is Ozzy inside?" Were the more pressing words out of his mouth as he pushed inside.

_"His presence is detected in the lab."_

"In what now?" Andrew mused to himself. He figured the A.I. had to be glitching. No way would his dad let Ozzy be in the lab.

_"Your father is also there and is requesting your presence,"_  Friday added.

Andrew smiled and hurried his way from the foyer through the familiar route to Tony's lab. Once inside Andrew grinned at the sight. Yeah, his dad was there and Andrew hadn't seen him in person for a month and a half, but the young man completely overlooked his father's presence. There was someone else there that Andrew was admittedly more excited to see.

Andrew let his backpack plop to the floor, and he squatted down where he stood, patting at his knees. "C'mere boy!" he called out with a smile in his voice.

And so where Tony was sat —leaned back in his chair, his legs crossed and resting atop the work table— he suddenly found his hand petting at air where a dog had been just a split second ago. Ozzy was a two-year-old Pitbull mutt; his coat mainly a multi-toned brown with a large patch of white that went from above his left eye, down his snout, and ended at his chest. He had some white paws to match, and his ears were thankfully undocked and adorably floppy. The energetic lean forty pound hunk of fur sprinted full-on toward clearly its most beloved human. Andrew didn't bother trying to brace himself when Ozzy reached him and leapt up toward his legs. Andrew let himself fall with the momentum and laughed as Ozzy walked over him; the dog coming to a stop where he could properly lick Andrew's face.

"I missed you too," Andrew said with a laugh in his voice, as well as a slight grunt due to the weight on top of him. Andrew rubbed his hands swiftly back and forth over his dog's flanks lovingly. He really had missed his drooling fur ball.

"Feelings hurt." Tony had made his way over to the boy and his dog, and jokingly clutched at his heart in anguish. "More love for the pooch than your old man."

Andrew gently shifted the dog off him and opted to get into a one-knee kneeling position instead. He kept lavishing Ozzy with pets and scratches, but he looked up to his dad with a guilty smile. "Come on, can you blame me? I got to talk to you all the time. This little dude, not so much." Andrew gave Ozzy a couple more pats and some 'good boys', but he quickly calmed his dog and got to his feet. He stepped up to Tony and gave his dad a readily returned hug. This welcome sent a happiness through Andrew's heart as well. Yeah, he had kind of missed his dad too.

"That's more like it, punk." Tony gave Andrew a few hearty pats on the back before he pulled away arms length, keeping his hands gripped at Andrew's shoulders. The teen had long since grown to be only and inch shorter than his dad. "Let me get a good look at you, Mr. Big Man on Campus, back from his first year of college."

Tony looked so proud, and it was then that Andrew noticed the man was wearing a Brandeis University t-shirt. Andrew inwardly cringed, and it took all his power not to physically do so. To say the least, Andrew didn't care much for college life at Brandeis. And if he could have his way, his first year of college would also be his last year of college. Andrew usually felt like he was able to be open with Tony about anything, but this here was different. This would be disappointing the man who gave him a second chance at life. The man who gave him everything he could ever want. The man who showed him endless support. Andrew had let Tony know upfront before the grueling 'applying to colleges' process that he wasn't even interested in going to college at all. But Tony had been so enthusiastic over it that Andrew had caved in to his dad's wish that he just give his freshmen year a real try.

"You don't look excited. Why don't you look excited?" Tony stepped back a bit to grab his StarkPad from the nearby table. "You're not worrying about getting your grades, are you? I might have had our girl Friday do some digging and calculating so we wouldn't have to wait," he spoke swiping over the screen. "You done good, punk." Tony showed an impressed smile as he projected out the screen image for Andrew to see. "3.60. That's Dean's list material."

Andrew did allow himself a second to feel pleased with himself over that. He was certainly no natural genius like his father; but for a regular schmuck, Andrew felt like that GPA was pretty damn good. He promised his dad he'd try his absolute best, but Andrew had to work his ass off every damn day and night to the point of wanting to bash his head against a wall to keep his grades up. The last thing Andrew wanted was three more years of that shit, studying crap he didn't care about.

"I guess I didn't completely suck then." Andrew settled for his response, showing Tony a smile. He quickly changed the subject, hoping it would be easier to keep his true feelings of his college experience buried down for the time being. The delaying of disappointing his dad was top priority. "But what I'm more surprised about is catching you hanging down here with Ozzy," Andrew gushed. He reached to pet his dog some more. "I knew all that being a hardass about him was an act. You love him." Andrew grinned, and gave Ozzy more attention. "'Cause you're the best boy, aren't you? Yes you are."

"He may have grown on me a bit while you were a away. A furry drooling surrogate Drew, if you will. But I definitely don't like him."

"But you're the one that got him for me," Andrew said with a chuckle.

"Because you wanted dog," Tony shrugged, saying it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The man leaned down to give the mutt a quick pet in spite of himself. "A boy should have a dog if he wants a dog. You deserved a dog. And speaking of awesome gifts from your awesome pops..." Tony placed his hand on Andrew's back and led him further into the lab. "I know it was tough, taking a break from being an Avenger to being a regular ol' college kid. Well, as regular as you can be being who you are and everyone knowing who you are. And I know we butted heads a bit with me benching you from all the Accords mess and that Berlin fiasco. I stand by not dredging you into a 'family feud'. But anyway, I'm loosing track... Just, you did good, punk. I'm proud of you. So now that you're back to being Pulse for the summer, an upgrade was in order."

The teen had been led to the row of display tubes where Tony kept his favorite older Mark versions of his Iron Man armor. Tony gestured to the last tube on the right with a sideways smile. Mark 43 wasn't in there as usual, but instead it was a new Pulse suit displayed over a clear mannequin.  Andrew's eyes widened as he took it in. It was similar to his old one, but now the specialized material was a little darker —a midnight blue. All the embellishing lines were now black and silver, and so too was the logo across the chest, a broad triangle with the tilted symbol for muon energy designed to fit in a sharp, jagged style within it. There was a streamlined black utility belt, and a sleeker pair of black and silver tech enhanced goggles. Andrew mentally gushed over it. An upgrade indeed.

"Tell me, she ain't a beauty." Tony crossed his arms over his chest, looking impressed at his own work. "You deserve it. Amazing first year, punk. Here's to three more."

And with those words Andrew suddenly felt racked with guilt. Would Tony still want to be giving him this gift if he knew how his dear son really felt about continuing his college education? Andrew couldn't put off what he needed to say any longer, even if it meant he was totally ruining this moment. He squeezed his eyes shut before he spoke, not wanting to have to see his dad's reaction. "I wanna drop out."

The silence that met Andrew's ears was deafening. Especially since his father was the kind of man that always had something to say about anything and was hard to shut up. The teen gingerly opened his eyes, and seeing Tony's blank expression made Andrew scramble to explain himself.

"I know that's not what you wanna hear, but I mean, it can't be that much of a surprise. You know I didn't wanna go in the first place. And we talked every week; I did sugarcoat things a little, but I know I made it pretty clear I wasn't having the best time. I guess I'm glad I tried, but it's just not for me."

Tony sighed quietly out his nose. "You know, you have all summer to figure this out. I know things weren't easy, but-"

"I don't need any time to figure this out. It's figured." Andrew felt his confidence coming back a little. "The only reason those grades are as good as they are is because I didn't want to let you down. But it wasn't just the school work that sucked. It was hard to just be me." Andrew sighed and looked to his father with deep brown eyes pleading for understanding. "The last thing I wanna do is disappoint you, but I-"

"Whoa whoa," Tony cut in, holding up his hands. "Stop right there, mister. Just give me a minute to not react like my own dad here." Tony closed his eyes and took a long deep breath. He nodded to himself a bit before landing his eyes back on Andrew's anxious ones. "First off, you are anything but a disappointment. I forget sometimes how different we are, because for best or for worst you're a lot like me," Tony smirked a little. "It's your life. It's your choice. It's just my job to help steer you in the right direction. And I guess if this year managed to show you how smart you are, how determined, and yeah, even how much you didn't like higher education... I think we can still call it a steering success. Now we can definitively say you want nothing more than being a full-time Avenger, yeah?"

Andrew let out a relieved sigh that his dad's reaction had taken the understanding turn. "Yeah. Yeah, I just wanna help people."

Tony smiled warmly. "Then that's how it's gonna be."

"You're the best." Andrew grinned widely.

"Obviously." Tony said smugly, ruffling Andrew's messy hair.

"So, I should probably go give that thing a test drive right?" Andrew gestured to the new suit. Now that there was no more worry hanging in his chest, he was nothing but excited.

"I'd be insulted if you didn't." Tony remarked.

The man's pocketed phone buzzed then, and Andrew made himself busy by squatting down and yet again lavishing Ozzy with pets and scratches as Tony's attention was brought to the device.

"Hmm, I think I might have a little assignment for you." Tony's eyes were on the screen as he spoke to his son. "You've been out of the game for a while, so I think I'd like to put you back to basics. There's someone who could use a little help back in the city. You remember that spider kid I told you about?"


	3. Peter Parker

Andrew wasn't particularly thrilled about his assignment.  Tony called it a "minor support mission"; Andrew saw it more like a babysitting gig. Helping that Spider-Man kid with an enhanced criminal he had trouble with would definitely not have been Andrew's first pick mission back as an Avenger. It wouldn't have been his anytime pick, and maybe the reason was a little petty. Andrew would never admit it out loud, but there was a bit of harbored jealousy when it came to this Spider-Man he never met.

While Andrew kind of understood Tony's reasoning for keeping him out of the Accords situation that fractured the Avengers —his family; Andrew still couldn't help but feel a little resentment for his dad finding help from some random other super kid instead of himself. And with how his dad was still helping the kid, how protective his dad was over the kid, Andrew felt like he was being replaced in a way. Andrew knew the thoughts and feelings were stupid, but he didn't know how to stop having them.

He was suppose to meet the spider boy later in the day; so for now Andrew let himself be lazy and try to relax his "grumbly" feelings. He was in his room, three of the walls a warm gray and the one his large bed was up against a deep crimson. Most of the walls were covered with band posters, neatly hung within large frames. That was probably the only "neat" thing about the young man's room. It was left in an absolute mess from the last time he was home. The top of his desk and dresser  and nightstands were littered with junk, his "music corner" was cluttered with instruments, and the floor was peppered with clumps of dropped clothes —a mix of both dirty and clean. Andrew was sprawled out on his unmade bed, Ozzy curled up against his side. The teen had his eyes closed and just soaked in the sound of the punk rock music filling the room. The Distillers. The melody was fast and hard-edged, and the frontwoman's voice harsh and raspy. Normal people probably got pumped while listening to it, but Andrew always felt soothed.

Andrew felt Ozzy shift next to him, then his dad's loud voice command.

"Music off!"

The music stopped instantly much to Andrew's slight annoyance, but he didn't bother moving or even opening his eyes.

"Geez, I almost forgot what a slob you are in here." Tony remarked.

"It's  _lived in_ ," Andrew commented cheekily. He finally opened his eyes after that and sat up to face his dad, but Andrew found himself facing more than just Tony.

There was a brown-haired boy standing partially behind his father. A cute kid in his early teens, in a pair of sneakers, khaki cargo shorts, and a silly science tee that used three periodic table elements to spell out "nerdy" across the chest. His doe brown eyes were widened a little, clearly showing he was suppressing some internalized awe. Andrew cocked his head to the side just taking in the boy's presence. Was this Spider-Man? Andrew was told the kid was a highschooler, but this kid just looked so...tiny. Even though his meeting with Spider-Man was expected later in the day, this boy had to be him. Andrew played dumb though.

"Who's this?" Andrew questioned, staying seated crossed-legged on the bed and absently petting Ozzy beside him. "Wait is it official now then? You're finally opening Tony Stark's Home for Wayward Boys?" Andrew smirked.

Tony rolled his eyes, but smiled in amusement. "Shut it, smartass." Tony then gestured accordingly to the teens as he introduced them to each other. "This here's the kid —the spider one obviously. And kid, this is my son, Andrew —albeit, also kind of obviously. So, you've met now. Great," Tony clapped once and kept his hands clasped together. He then addressed his son, "I thought I'd just bring the kid here to wait while I fix his suit. Make some adjustments. Shouldn't take too long. I figured a little bonding time wouldn't hurt before you both head to the city. So yeah, talk," Tony gestured with his hands as he spoke, "or stare at your phones in silence. Whatever it is you kids do to socialize these days. All good, punk?"

"Yeah, of course," Andrew forced a smile. He was kind of annoyed that his dad just threw this kid he didn't know into his personal space. There were plenty of other places they could have met in the building. "I just need to talk to you about something for a second. Just maybe in the hall."

"Okay," Tony resigned with a brow arched suspiciously.

Andrew exited the room with his father, showing Spider-Man a friendly nod as he walked passed him. Andrew shut the door behind him and quickly dropped the pleasant look off his face, which had only been there because he did have good manners in front of guests. "Dude," he said exasperatedly to Tony, "could you have shoved a more unwanted situation in-"

"I know your  _hesitant_ about this assignment," Tony cut Andrew off. "And while it's not an official Avengers' intervention, you're already signed off for it, and I'm not filing more paperwork so there's no backing out."

" _I_ never signed anything," Andrew stressed. 

Tony rolled his eyes and sighed curtly. "You act like you're mad at the kid. And I didn't get why until an hour after we spoke before, because unfortunately I'm not a genius at everything. You're not really mad at him. You're mad at  _me:_  I sent you away, I brought him in, it isn't fair, yada yada. I get it."

Andrew didn't want to confirm or deny Tony's understanding; he felt his jealousy was too juvenile and embarrassing. So he stayed silent and just crossed his arms over his chest.

"But just hear me out," Tony went on. "The reason I was able to believe in this kid was because of you."

Andrew's ears perked at his dad's words.

"The reason I'm helping him out is because of you. Because I have a son with a heart of gold that proved to me he was strong, and with a little help and guidance that he was capable of amazing things. I know it's been  _such a long time_ , but you were  _little_ like him once. Young and suddenly struck with power. He just wants to help people, just like you did. Just like you still do. So if I'm doing the math right on this, which of course I am, it means deep down past the 'dad resentment' you want to help him too."

Andrew sighed. His father's uplifting words had thrown his feelings about Spider-Man into a blender. That stubborn chunk of jealousy had been pretty well minced. He hadn't been fair to this spider boy, judging the kid based on Tony's decisions when Andrew didn't even know him. The kid should be a clean slate. The kid deserved a chance, and Andrew felt like he could give that chance now.

"I was never that little," Andrew spoke, raising a playful challenging brow and that hint of a smile at his lips that let his dad know he felt better over the situation.

Tony smiled fully in return. "You're a good kid, punk. And so is he. You'll like him. He can be a little harmlessly exasperating, but you're not exactly the most charming person to be around either." Tony smirked.

"Hey," Andrew propped his hands at his hips in a mock-indignant fashion, "you calling me annoying?"

"You're nineteen, and I'm forty-seven; of course you're annoying," Tony shrugged with a helpless smile. "Now play nice. I'll let you know when I'm done."

Andrew made his way back inside his room and took in the sight his eyes were met with. Ozzy was belly up on the floor with Spider-Man crouched down beside him, all smiles and rubbing the happy dog's tummy. Andrew couldn't help but smile too. The boy had Ozzy's seal of approval, so Andrew supposed the kid had to be alright after all.

Spider-Man clambered to his feet when Andrew stepped in closer. "Hey! Hi!" The kid's excitement bubbled out. He quickly cleared his throat and composed the excited look on his face. "Hey," he said in a cooler forcibly relaxed tone.

Andrew's smiled stayed planted on his face. "Hey. Sorry about the wait. It's nice to meet you." He held his hand out for Spider-Man to shake. The kid readily gripped on and shook it quickly.

"Yeah, you too. This is awesome." The excitement sprung back into the kid's voice. "I can't believe I'm just standing here in front of you. And like just as  _me_. I was almost gonna wear my spare mask." The kid's small chuckle broke up his rapid speech. "Like I didn't know if I should've or not. I just kinda don't want alotta people knowing who I really am. It's just safer with my situation, you know? But Mr. Stark said you could keep a secret, if I was comfortable. And you're about to partner up with me, which is awesome, so I think I can I trust you. I can trust you, right?" The kid shook his head at himself, "Of course I can trust you, you're an Avenger and-"

"Yeah, you can trust me," Andrew interrupted. He managed not to laugh at how excitable the kid was, but couldn't help his grin. "I promise you your secret's safe." Not that Andrew could tell anyone if he wanted to. Yeah Andrew saw Spider-Man's face now, but he still didn't know who the kid was. Tony was always cryptic when he talked about the boy, never used names or specifics. As Tony said, they were Spider-Man's secret's to tell if the kid felt okay to do so.

"Thank you," Spider-Man smiled. A smile that widened as he looked around his surroundings more. "This is so cool. I'm in Pulse's room."

Andrew did chuckle at the younger teen this time.  "Yeah, I guess it's cool." He sat down on the edge of the bed and gesture toward his desk chair for the kid to take a seat. Spider-Man readily obliged the offer.  "You can call me Andrew if you want. Do I just call you Spider-Man? It's fine if you don't want to tell me your name, but as cool as 'Spider-Man' is you're probably gonna end up with a nickname. I need something shorter for everyday conversation." Andrew showed a quirky half smile.

"Ah right, my name. You don't...right," Spider-Man mimed smacking his palm against his forehead in a 'duh' fashion. "Peter. My name's Peter. Parker. Peter Parker. Sorry, I forgot I never told you. I'm just super excited that I'm gonna be working with you. I only just kinda got over being starstruck whenever I see Mr. Stark, er your dad. But you... this is so awesome." Peter gushed. "You're Pulse. The youngest Avenger."

Andrew smiled warmly. He did appreciate being fanned over, and Peter was being so open and cute about it. An adorably awkward ball of energy. Andrew felt so silly now for ever feeling any ill will toward the boy. The kid was just so genuinely... _genuine_. "It's a pretty sweet gig. But I get the feeling you'll probably take the title someday. I've seen the YouTube videos. The stuff you can do. It's pretty effin' rad."

Peter smiled, it a mix of both proud and embarrassed. "Oh, it's nothing."

"Come on dude, I saw you catch a car with your bare hands and you're like the size of a twelve-year-old."

"Sixteen," Peter huffed. "I'm sixteen."

"Sorry sorry," Andrew said through light laughter. He cleared his throat and continued calmly. "Nah, you're cool. And you definitely seem to have a better handle on things than I did at your age. Like for one, after only a couple mishaps you listened to orders and actually called for backup when you're supposed to. Man, I got in trouble A LOT trying to handle things on my own." Andrew chuckled at his own expense thinking back. "There's a time for 'solo', and there's time for 'team'. I think we can kick some ass. The guy you ran into...dad told me he has electric powers?"

"Yeah," Peter sighed. "Something like that. I thought I was just dealing with a regular bank robber, you know? But then he just  _zaps me_. Like right outta his hand, kinda like you. Shorted out my suit, my webshooters. I still tried, but it didn't go so well. He didn't get the money, but he got away, and I got stuck in a vault." Peter smiled cheekily.

"Well, now that we've got each other's backs, I think we can handle this guy no problem," Andrew spoke honestly with a smile.

Peter smiled back, and Andrew finally found himself looking forward to working with Spider-man.


	4. White & Blue

Over the past three days Andrew felt like he had gotten to know Peter pretty well. They didn't see much of each other during the day, but when early evening came around and Andrew tagged along with Spider-Man's patrols of the city, there was plenty of time to talk between the muggings and robberies and petty crime they came across. Yes, it had only been three days, but Andrew already understood why Tony had that protective drive to help the kid; because Andrew himself felt it too now. Peter was probably the most selfless sixteen-year-old on the planet. This geeky purest of heart, most down to earth, enthusiastic, reckless yet most responsible young teen Andrew had ever known. Andrew liked to think he saw a lot of himself at that age in Peter; but even though Andrew had selfless intentions at that age, he definitely had more pompous moments and had been way more reckless than responsible. Andrew was supposed to be acting as a role model for Peter on this assignment, but really, Peter was being just as much as that to Andrew. Three days. Three days and Andrew felt like this delightfully annoying kid with spider powers was pretty much his little brother.

~

It was night, and the young men sat next to each other on the edge of a roof top, taking a short break from flying/swinging through the city. Andrew looked away from the still busy street below and eyed Peter through his blue-tinted goggle lenses after the kid finished telling his quick abridged story of how he got his powers.

"Well shit, that must have been one hell of a spider." Andrew mused.

"You could say that," Peter shrugged with a small amused smile. "The different lab subjects were all genetically altered, but I did some digging after, and it turns out the spider was radioactive."

Andrew gazed at Peter critically. "So you got bit by a radioactive spider? And not only did that not kill you...but you got powers?"

"Well, when you say it that way it sounds crazy," Peter chuckled.

"I don't really take 'crazy' away from that. I can't help but think you already had to have been something special before it happened. 'Cause I mean...again,  _you got bit by a radioactive spider and you didn't die._ "

"No no no," Andrew heard the blush in Peter voice, "I was just lucky. Or cursed. Or maybe a little bit of both. But what about you? I mean, I've read about you before. Not like in a researchy stalker way. Just, you know, you've done interviews and stuff, and I've seen videos of some fights, but um yeah, I've never seen anything about how you got your powers or what exactly they are."

Andrew brought his attention back down to the street below. His eyes focused on the white and red glow of the car lights, and his mind ran wild. Andrew didn't usually get emotional when he was asked about how he got his powers. It would be nothing more than a little sting in his chest. He would deliver his "No comment", and be fine. But this wasn't a reporter just trying to get a scoop, this was Peter just being innocently curious. This was Peter just innocently urging them to know more about one another. They had already shared the sad circumstances of their youths: Peter's parents dying when he was just a toddler, his uncle who raised him murdered; and Andrew's biological father and baby brother perishing in a car accident when he was eight years old, and his mother's spiral into the horrible person she became because of the grief. Andrew already felt close to Peter, and now this was the kid just trying to make them closer. It made the question feel more intimate, coming from someone Andrew cared about. It made the question hard to ignore.

At first Andrew childishly cursed that Peter felt enough trust between them that a sharing of their 'origins' wasn't a big deal. But dammit, to Andrew it was a big deal. The older teen had not had the luxury of getting his powers via some crazy mishap like Peter had. Andrew had been purposefully taken away against his will. He had been tortured and drugged up and primed. He had been held prisoner in that hell for four months, and now flashes of those memories played in his mind's eye on their own accord.

_"Your heart rate is spiking under no exertion, Drew. You appear to be having an episode. Would you like me to coach you through your breathing exercises?_ "

It was the voice of Andrew's personal A.I. chiming in his ear. Tony had designed it two years ago specifically to his son's needs and personality. Andrew had picked out its male voice from a slew of options Tony had given him. Andrew settled with the declared 'hot as fuck' Australian accent and had called it/him Danzig, after the frontman for The Misfits —the teen's favorite band.

"What? No. No, I'm fine."

"What?" Peter questioned, one of the eyes of his mask effectively 'squinting' to show his confusion.

"Nothing, sorry." Andrew shook his head. "I was talking to Zig. But listen, how I got my powers..." he took one big deep breath. "It's not really a happy story. I don't wanna get into it right now. Some other time okay? So just how about for now, you can believe that internet rumor where I'm actually just an android Tony Stark built." Andrew smiled cheekily, successfully lighting is own mood.

Peter chuckled softly. "Sure thing. But how is that, dude? Having EVERYBODY talk about you? And wanting a piece of you, I guess. All that attention. Like as Spider-Man I think I could handle it, but definitely not as me, just Peter. It doesn't get to be separate for you."

"I hated it at first," Andrew admitted with a small chuckle. "But I got to have Tony for a dad, so I thought the trade off was worth it. And then, I dunno, I guess deep down I'm a bit of an attention whore, so I kinda like it to a point. There's plenty of majorly annoying moments —like classmates making videos of me just sitting there listening to a professor give a lecture, but nah, I think the cool definitely outweighs the dipshits that ruin it a little. I guess the thing that sucks is that I don't feel like I can make close friends. I guess that's just my own trust issues." Being the son of Iron Man and an Avenger himself, it was hard to tell if potential friends were really interested in knowing the real him or if they just wanted that association claim to fame. "But yeah, I'm kinda lacking in the friends around my own age department. You make it a nice even two now."

"We're friends?" It really wasn't so much a questioning tone leaving Peter's throat, but an awed realization.

"Of course," Andrew bumped his fist lightly against Peter's shoulder with a smile. "So this trip back to the city has been pretty sweet. The hero hang time with you, and I get to hang out with Jesse." Andrew spoke of his fellow homeschooler friend he stayed close with. "The other day was awesome. Man, we got so stoned and watched these cheesy sci-fi movies," he hummed pleasantly at the thought. "It was great."

"You got  _what_?" Peter's voice went up in pitch.

Andrew instantly regretted sharing his innocent little drug usage. Peter was cool and all, but he was such a goody-goody. "I got so... _stoked_ to-"

" _Activity on the police frequency three blocks north_." Danzig's voice interrupted Andrew's sad attempt at saving face to Peter's higher morals. " _Possible bank robbery in progress._ "

Peter suddenly sprung up to his feet. "You get the report too?" He questioned hastily.

Andrew gave a curt nod and let his energy wash over himself. "Let's rock and roll."

~

The pair beat the police to the scene —the "boys in blue" still ten minutes out. Andrew and Peter were quickly accessing the situation from the small enclosed entrance to the bank holding its' ATMs. They didn't need any sight aid from their enhanced lenses, seeing just fine with the bank's dimmer overnight lighting left on. There was a lone figure hopping over from behind the long teller counter. The person's build gave it away that it was a man. He was all in black: the sleeveless muscle shirt, pants, boots, gloves, backpack, and ski mask with openings for his eyes and mouth. He looked pretty much like the stereotype of a normal robber. His exposed slightly tan toned arms revealing that the man was fit, but there was nothing special observed about him. Nothing enhanced.

"That  _could_  be lightning guy," Peter whispered to Andrew. "Dunno. The dude was wearing a different shirt last time. Maybe he's different."

"Well, it's your city Spidey," Andrew spoke the nickname with a smile, "nab this d-bag, and I'll jump in if you need me."

And so Andrew was prepared to stay back and let Peter take the lead, much like he had let the younger teen do with the majority of all their other run-ins. This was Spider-Man's home turf now, and Andrew wasn't here to encroach on that. Pulse was here for a small allotted time to help catch an enhanced criminal, so until said criminal was found, Andrew let Peter do his thing for the most part, aiding a small hand here and there —though Andrew did end up highly involved in taking down a car theft chase yesterday. That had been fun.

This normal looking robbery would be a cake walk for Peter. Spider-Man could easily web up a common perp, and then the police would arrive in minutes to haul the guy away. So Andrew watched on hidden from sight. The robber had dove and dodged his way clear of Peter's first two attempts of hitting the man with his webbing. The third try met their marks, coating the man's feet and effectively cementing him in place. Peter flipped over the trapped man, shooting a web at the man's backpack as he did and yanking it off his shoulders.

"Now why don't ya just stick right here 'til he cops show up," Peter quipped when he landed, keeping a hold of the presumed bag full of stolen money. "Should be any minute."

The robber audibly sighed in irritation. "I know, I was sloppy. Wrong current, triggered the silent alarm myself. But no more mistakes tonight." His voice was smooth, masculine —one of a young adult— and held the slightest tone of annoyance. And after he spoke those words, he pointed his hands down toward his feet. Electricity sparked to life around his palms and fingers.

Andrew barely had time to process the robber sending bolts of the energy down at his feet. It fried and broke the webbing that was trapping the man there, and he shot another bolt at Peter, making the young hero have to flip out of the way. The robber immediately went into a full sprint for the door, but now Andrew was ready. Pulse was ready. He hurried out to stand before the door, a strong stance: his chest out, arms crossed, a confident stare down.

The robber skidded to a dead stop just two feet away, facing Andrew.  The man was only an inch or two taller; no real advantage for him there. The thief was quiet for a few slow ticking seconds; his hazel eyes through his mask looking awed but concerned. "Dios mío. It's  _you,_ right in front of me." It was an almost whispered exclamation, those first two words leaving his throat in a Spanish accent.

"Always happy to meet a fan. I can sign the handcuffs you're gonna end up in if you'd like," Andrew remarked cheekily.

The thief shook his head, seemingly to get his composure back together. "Getting caught ain't a part of the plan, so I'll have to pass."

"You're sorta outnumbered here," Andrew gave a nod to Spider-Man at the ready standing a few feet behind the thief. "I'm gonna give you a chance to just surrender. Things don't have to get messy."

"I take my own chances," the thief said coolly. He suddenly crouched down, and with a soft grunt multiple bolts of electricity shot from his body, being sent in all directions.

Andrew let his energy envelope him. He took flight to dodge the bolts of power, but a few still made contact. Andrew's energy acted like a shield for the most part, his own power absorbing the thief's. The strikes had merely felt like a strange energizing tickle. Andrew shot out his own blast at the criminal as he once again made a dash for the door. Andrew missed, but he didn't concern himself with chasing after the thief just yet. Peter had apparently gotten hit and laid out flat on the floor. Andrew flew over to the fallen teen in the rush. He knelt beside Peter, the boy waving him off.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Peter said with a grunt. "Go ahead, I'll catch up."

Andrew shot Peter a skeptical look through his lenses. He couldn't just leave the kid if he was really hurt and just trying to be macho about it. The criminal escaping be damned, if Andrew abandoned Peter in a serious state, Andrew wouldn't forgive himself; plus his dad would thoroughly chew him out as well. "Have your Karen tell me you're fine then."

Peter sighed. "Go 'head, Karen."

Andrew only had to wait a second before Danzig's voice filled his ears.  _"The injury analysis sent shows no serious damage."_

"Don't make me regret this decision." Andrew warned with a crooked smile. He stood and let his power come to life around him. "Get outta here as soon as you can." He called over his shoulder as he took flight through the bank.

"I'm fine! Go!" Peter shouted after him.

Once outside Andrew hovered a few feet over the side walk, quickly looking down each side of the street for any sign of the robber. "Come on, Zig, gimme eyes on this guy."

_"Suspicious behavior observed."_  Andrew's lenses honed in his sight on a motorcycle racing down the road between the light traffic.  _"Motorcyclist traveling at excessive speed. Crude analysis marks the rider as approximately the same build."_

"Sounds good to me," Andrew remarked and then he was off flying above the street.

Andrew was easily gaining on the rider, and as he got close it became apparent that it definitely was the robber. The man was wearing the same getup, only now just topped with a visor-ed helmet. Andrew needed to be careful about how he proceeded with there being other divers on the road. There weren't too many, but Andrew wasn't going to allow anyone innocent getting hurt as a result of this chase. He shot out a light blast from his palm, a warning that precisely whizzed past the side of the man's helmet and harmlessly hit the asphalt. It was to Andrew's surprise that the guy actually started to slow down a bit. The fleeing thief maneuvered his bike into the right lane and took a turn down a lesser used street. Andrew followed along, the street was empty and dark between the tall buildings, especially with a couple of streetlights not working. The motorcycle came to a stop at the side of the road, and Andrew landed on his feet several cautious yards away in the middle of the street. He let his glow wash away from his body, except for keeping the energy at the ready alight at his hands. He guardedly watched the man climb off the bike and hang his helmet on a handle bar. The robber turned —mask still on— and raised his hands in surrender then, taking a few slow steps toward Andrew before coming to a silent halt.

"Decided to be smart?" Andrew questioned, flexing his glowing fingers.

"You could say that. I know I can't outrun you. Not with such a puny headstart, so I need to slow you down." The words left the man's mouth, and he immediately sprung into action.

Bright white bolts sprung from the thief's hands. They were bigger than what he struck with inside the bank. Andrew leapt out of the way and took flight with his energy. They ended up in a bit of a dance both firing and dodging each other's attacks —Andrew from the air, and the robber from the ground.

"I'm not trying to hurt anyone," the man spoke as they fought. "Why do you think I do this stuff at night when the buildings are closed? Why I brought you to this deserted street? I don't want any people getting hurt by accident."

Andrew commended that to a point. "Okay, so you're a considerate thief."

They fought on, and Andrew ended up getting hit by a bolt in the midst of of their exchange. Right square in his gut. It was that same strange tickle he had felt before, just this time the sensation was a little stronger, and where he had been hit knocked the wind out of him a little. He made himself land, about ten yards from the robber. Besides breathing a little heavily, Andrew stood strong. The thief just watched Andrew in those seconds, his masked head cocking to the side in obvious confusion.

"Mierda!" Another exclamation of Spanish came out. Andrew didn't know what it meant, but he could gather well enough that the guy was frustrated.

"What? Pissed off you didn't just kill me?"

"Hey now,  _good guy_ , I'm not trying to kill anybody. But obviously with you I need to dial it up a bit." The white spastic dancing glow of electricity suddenly spread from the man's hands and covered his whole body.

Andrew glared and made the energy around himself increase. This guy might actually be a challenge, but that was fine. Challenges could be fun.

"Now, I really don't wanna hurt you." The robber went on. "And really the last thing I wanna do is assault an Avenger, but if you don't let me walk away right now, you're not really giving me much of a choice."

"You're a thief. I can't let you go." Andrew stated plainly.

"And you're cute when you're acting all noble. Let's go then. Your move, Stark boy."

"It's Pulse." Andrew corrected with a steely gaze.

And then the young Avenger made his move, bringing his hands up quickly and blasting a beam of energy toward his foe. The man was ready for it though, his own stream of electricity shooting forth from his hands and impacting with Andrew's. Their respective energies stayed connected to their outstretched hands. Where the muon and electrical power collided between them, it was a clash of blue and white quaking and crackling with sparks. Andrew was getting frustrated. Their powers were too evenly matched or just weren't effecting each other. Andrew didn't know how he was going to win this. But he had to win this. He was going to win this.

He concentrated harder; his beam grew larger. But so did the thief's. There was a loud cracking sound, a pop, and then a blinding eruption of white and blue flaring out and then falling in upon itself. The beams collapsed to where they were clashing with a rush, and Andrew felt himself being ripped forward by the force. The robber was flying forward as well, and Andrew didn't have any time to attempt to stop the inevitable. Avenger and thief collided where their energies once had. Their bodies hit together hard. Andrew lost his breath and he dropped to the ground eyes squeezed shut. Saying it had hurt was an understatement.

All glowing was gone. Andrew was on his back, and it felt like he had the weight of the world crushing on top of him. But as his mind worked more clearly, he realized it was more like the weight of a body. Andrew pealed his eyes open to become face-to-masked-face with the thief who was splayed out on top of him.

The man grunted a little. "Well this last part kinda sucked, but this was fun. Maybe we could do it again some time." There was a wink, and then a quick kiss landing on Andrew's cheek. Lips that met his skin with a spark. A pleasant static buzzed down through his veins, and Andrew could only lay there and stare at the retreating criminal. "Adios, lindo."

Andrew tried to sit up at the sound of the motorcycle engine coming to life and starting to drive off, but his body really didn't want to cooperated. He stayed on the ground; he wasn't going to win any fights with how his body felt right now. Andrew wasn't even sure he could force himself to fly.

"Are my ribs broken? Because it feels like my ribs are broken. Like all of them. Everywhere."

_"No breaks or fractures detected."_  Danzig sounded.  _"You do have several contusions."_

"Sweet," Andrew remarked sarcastically and groaned a little. "Hey Zig, what's 'lindo' mean?"

_"Literally translated from Spanish: pretty or cute."_

"So he's calling me a pretty boy?"

_"In effect, though there is no negative connotation as there is in English. It's a common male affectionate nickname."_

"So then he's being a suave bastard?"

_"It appears so, mate."_

Andrew smirked. "I like it. This dude's gonna be a fun kinda trouble, but I'll figure it out."

Mere seconds later Peter swung in seemingly out of nowhere, landing beside Andrew's sprawled out form. "What I miss?"

Andrew smiled crookedly up at him. "One hell of a light show."


	5. Robin Hood

There had been a phone call with his dad on whether Tony was going to let Andrew stay on the hunt for the electric criminal. As far as Tony was concerned both his kids had gotten hurt and the man couldn't help but worry, especially about Drew because he didn't have enhanced healing like Peter did. But since the injuries were minor, Andrew had been able to win the discussion, so it was back to the waiting game of standing by until the enhanced fugitive struck again. The following two days had been pretty quiet on the crime front, and Andrew's days had become a little boring. He really wished he had brought his dog to stay with him at Tony's penthouse in the city.

It was three o'clock on a sunny and hot afternoon. His friend Jesse was at work, Peter was with his aunt; so Andrew had no other option but to entertain himself. He left the massive apartment for a change of scenery and to get something to eat. As dumb as it sounds, wearing a ball cap and a pair of sunglasses along with his grungy casual clothes usually did the trick in not getting recognized. No one really paid enough attention to other people's faces when going about their own lives walking down a sidewalk. Though at the food truck just ahead of him, Andrew was certainly going to be recognized when he got to the front of the line.

"Ah, my favorite customer!" The old gentleman with a thick full mustache manning the truck's counter spoke with a Greek accent. He followed the words up with a grin and an exaggerated wink, like he always did to make sure he let Andrew know he recognized him without announcing his identity to the rest of the line. "It's been so long!"

"Too long, Mr. Floros," Andrew smiled. "Happy to be back."

"What'll it be this time?"

Andrew got his order in and then ready in his hands in record time. Like always he was told the food was on the house; though like always Andrew dropped a twenty dollar bill in the tip tin. He moved a few feet from the food truck, unwrapping one end of his beautiful overstuffed pita as he went. Andrew leaned against a street lamp pole and readied himself to take that first magical bite, but then something hit his hands, feeling like a small insignificant shock. It didn't hurt him, but it was enough of a surprise that it made him lose his grip on his lunch. Andrew wasn't sure what to do at first. Search around to find out what happened? Or mourn the loss of the chicken and black bean pita perfection now partially in a scattered heap at his feet?

Andrew came to his senses and tore his eyes away from his lost food, and they immediately landed on a motorcycle and rider stopped at the side of the street in front of him. Andrew hadn't noticed it pulling up before because he had been too fully absorbed in lunchtime. The rider was a man in jeans, boots, helmet, and a lightweight back-padded motorcycle jacket. Andrew couldn't see the man's face through his helmet's tinted visor, but by the way the man's head was turned he was obviously looking at Andrew. The man raised his hand and gave a little wave. Little glints of electricity sparked between his fingers.

"No way..." Andrew breathed out loud to himself, his brain trying to process that he was looking at the electric

 robber right in broad daylight. There was no way this was some weird coincidence. The chances of anyone recognizing him while they were driving up the street was basically zero ...Unless they already knew what he was wearing. Unless they had been following him.

The thief made a 'follow me' gesture with his hand next and then took off into the street. Andrew spared a second to look down at himself: an old band t-shirt, some baggy mostly-grey-in-color plaid board shorts, and sneakers. He sighed. He didn't like flying around in normal clothes in public, but he didn't exactly have much of a choice here. It was his job to catch that thief. Plus that bastard had ruined his lunch. It was basically personal now.

Andrew flipped his hat backwards and with a rush of blue washing over him he took to the air. He went up as high as he could while still being able to easily recognize the motorcycle whizzing through the traffic below. Andrew didn't like this one bit. He realized the most likely scenario here was him being led to a trap, and he didn't have Danzig to scan for possible threats. Still, Andrew was confident. He'd play along with "follow the leader" and hoped the criminal was leading him somewhere with less people around. Andrew was determined to take this guy down, but in the middle of midday traffic was not the safe place to do it. Andrew wasn't going to put the lives of civilians at risk over a bank robber.

They did end up somewhere with less people. Zero people besides the Avenger and thief to be exact. The robber rode down a back alley in a run down part of the burrow, the buildings around it condemned or abandoned. Andrew couldn't help but think it was a perfect place for a trap as he hovered just outside the opening. Now would definitely have been the time to have had Danzig scan for possible hidden bodies lying in wait to help the criminal. Andrew stayed high, flying between the roofs of the alley opening. The criminal was stopped at a deadend, another brickwalled building closing off the end of the alley. Andrew didn't see anyone else, and it was really looking more like the guy was trapping himself. The man turned off his bike and climbed off. He took off his helmet, showing he was wearing the ski mask again underneath it. Andrew cautiously watched from above for a few more seconds. It really did seem like they were alone... Probably against his better judgement, he lowered himself down, landing only a few feet from the criminal and staring unamused at the man. The thief spoke first.

"¿Que es la qué hay, lindo? Lo siento por tu comida." The words ended with a cheeky little pout.

Andrew recognized the nickname the man called him the other day, and he was about ninety-nine percent certain the man said he was "sorry for" ...something? Andrew really wished his highschool Spanish hadn't mostly drifted out of his ears after he memorized the stuff for tests.

"Listen,  _amigo_ ," Andrew remarked facetiously, "can it, whatever it is you're trying to say to me. You ruin my lunch, you drag me to this shit hole-"

"I realize this is kinda creepy," the man interjected, "being like a ghost town here with just maybe a couple crackheads holed up here and there, but we're here not to be seen with each other for both our sakes. All I'm looking for here is a private conversation."

"And all I'm looking for is to bring you in. Our powers don't do to well against each other, so I figured I'd just do it the old fashioned way."

Andrew didn't give the criminal a chance to respond. He plucked his hat and sunglasses off, just dropping them to the ground as he rushed forward swooping down low to grab at one of the man's legs. The young Avenger hooked his own leg behind the man's ankle and successfully knocked him off balance and down to the ground. Andrew secured his offensive position straddled over the man's upper body, keeping him pinned to the ground. He reached for the collar of the jacket, planning on delivering a simple lovely cross collar choke. He'd get the guy unconscious and harmless; then Andrew could call in for pick up. That was the plan anyway.

The criminal struggled and fought back. "I'm not a bad guy," he croaked out. His hands went aglow with his electric energy and grabbed and pulled at Andrew's wrists to try to get the Avenger to loosen his hold. Andrew's own power turned on over his body instinctively. He could feel the man's energy shooting through him, but Andrew didn't let up. The power didn't hurt. It was an energizing buzz with the tiniest hint of a sting.

"Just turn off," Andrew said through gritted teeth. "It's not going to help you beat me, asshole. If anything, it feels kinda good."

The thief bucked up and turned then, unfortunately flipping Andrew over onto his back. Andrew couldn't help but halfheartedly think how disappointed Natasha would have been if she had seen him swept so easily. He missed her.

"Seriously, I only wanna talk." The man spoke, pinning Andrew's arms to the ground.

Andrew at the very least still had some sort of control with his legs wrapped around the man's middle. "Then talk while you can, because I  _will_ win this."

He broke the man's hold by pulling his own arms sharply down to his sides. The criminal's posture fell forward a little because of it, and Andrew grabbed control of the man's left arm down across his chest. With adept quickness Andrew shifted his body to lock his legs around the thief's neck and arm in a figure four. It was a triangle choke locked in as Andrew bridged up and squeezed. The man struggled briefly, then his whole body came to life with his white energy. It radiated bright, spasming and growing larger. Andrew's power around him grew as well to counter it. He knew this was going to end up a bad situation if he learned anything from his first fight with the thief, but Andrew had to keep his power up to absorb his foe's or it actually did start to hurt. And then it happened. Again. The flash of their powers erupting, then the implosion of them. Andrew's choke was lost and he was left out of breath on the ground. At least this second time around it hadn't involved a painful body slam. This crazy reaction didn't help his already bruised ribs though.

"Ow," Andrew remarked childishly. He propped back up on his lightly scraped up elbows to see the thief on the ground a couple yards away. The man was belly down and slowly working on moving to get on his knees.

"Same here, but come on, you were  _choking me_ ," the man shrugged. The thief got to his feet, grunting quietly as he stretched his body out a little. "Kinda looks like we're at a standstill here. Think you can just hear me out now? Five minutes. That's all I'm asking for." He stepped up to Andrew, offering him a hand.

Andrew silently sighed. He didn't want to give up on this, but it really was seeming to be an impossibility to have a real fight with this guy. Andrew eyed the offered hand cautiously and decided to stand up without the thief's help. "Five minutes." Andrew stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Okay, I have two things I need to tell you." The man began. "Like I said, I'm not really a bad person. Yeah, I've kept some of the money —a guy's gotta eat and pay the rent and Netflix is pretty much a necessity— but I haven't been doing all this for me. I've been doing it to help people. The poor people in this city, MY city, that just get glanced over or walked on or just forgotten. I didn't knock off big pharma to get high or make a buck selling the drugs on the street. There were people who were in pain, some who would have died if they didn't get that medication they couldn't afford. And the money from the banks and corporate assholes? Aside from my own living expenses, that goes to people living on the streets. People in debt to hospitals. People needing surgery and fucking cancer treatment."

Andrew stared at the man skeptically. This guy was admitting to crimes that weren't even pinned on him, and he was acting noble about it.  "Sooo, you're saying you steal from the rich and give to the poor? You telling me you're 'Electric Robin Hood' or some shit?"

The man let out a breathy chuckle. "I suppose I am. Now, I'm a redblooded American here, but something is seriously screwed up with this country, where those in power care more about profits than human life. A mother down the block shouldn't have to rely on a righteous thief so she can afford her three-year-old's chemo."

"Forgive me, but I can't exactly let myself be moved by your little speech here, dude.  I wanna believe it. I'd  _love_ to believe it. But I just don't think so."

"It's the truth. You need to drop this cat and mouse act, okay? I'm doing what I have to do to help people."

"You expect me to just trust you?" Andrew chuckled humorlessly. "I don't know you. I'm supposed to trust the _masked criminal_? That's just stupid on my part."

"You're right," the man stated. "I know who you are, and you don't know me. That's not fair. The least I could do is show you my face."

And he did. The guy actually did. He pulled off his mask, and Andrew took in the face of a young man appearing to be maybe a couple of years older than him.  Andrew mentally cursed because he wasn't just looking at any face. No, it was a strikingly good-looking face. The slight tan of the young man's skin, the curve of his jaw and chin, that perfect trace of scruffy facial hair. The man's hair was brown and a shade darker than Andrew's. The tousled locks were short, but still a long-ish style compared to traditional male cuts; the fringe was sideswept and longer around his eyes and ears. And those hazel eyes of his just seemed so much more alluring now that the mask was gone. The summer day suddenly seemed a lot hotter out to Andrew. He was staring.

"What?" The guy cocked a brow.

Andrew blinked back to reality. So he was attracted to a guy that happened to be a criminal. Fine. Whatever. Attraction was a part of nature. No harm in appreciating what you see in front of you.   "I dunno. I guess I wasn't expecting someone, um, not so... _not ugly_." Andrew unabashedly admitted.

"Well then," the man smirked. And good god, with the mask off was it ever the most smarmy attractive thing Andrew ever set his eyes on. "You think I'm hot and it 'feels good' when I touch you. Looks like I'm on a roll here."

Andrew rolled his eyes, but still he didn't care about admitting the truth. "Yeah, you're hot, BUT you're also an enhanced  _criminal_. And it's that second one that's got me wound up. Guess what, sparky, you're the reason I'm here in the city. It's kinda my job to stop you."

"It's you're job to stop bad people. I'm not a bad person." The man countered. "We're really not that different."

"I wish I could believe that." Andrew really wished he could. "There's nothing you can say, man. I think talk time is over."

"What then? We-"

The thief was down on the ground with Andrew atop him again before the criminal could finish his thought. Their powers were both moderately aglow as they grappled for the upper hand. Andrew got a few more scrapes on his knees and arm as their dueling bodies rolled over the asphalt. Limbs fought and tangled; grips were secured and then broken. They both ended up back on their feet. Andrew threw punches and kicks, but the thief dodged or blocked them. And Andrew noted that's all the thief was doing: defending himself. The guy wasn't trying to hit back. But the criminal did find his time to strike in the form of springing forward and wrapping Andrew up in a vice-like bear hug, effectively trapping the Avenger's arms down between them. Andrew struggled, and also tried to ignore that sudden lustful bubbling in his gut at being so closely wrapped up by the man. It was not the right time or place or who for that kind of feeling, but Andrew couldn't help it. He needed out of that grip. He let his power grow around him.

"Come on, lindo. Don't make me blow us up again ...er, blow us in? I'm not quite sure what's going on." The glowing thief kept his grip held strong. "Get it through your head. I really don't wanna hurt you. I'm not a bad man. I'm not claiming to be a hero. I know what I'm doing is against the law...but it's not against what's right."

Well damn, that line was smooth. And as Andrew had his eyes locked with the man's, in the moment Andrew believed it. The young Avenger knew he wasn't thinking right, but he was a nineteen-year-old with some severe pent up hormones and urges.  Since becoming Tony's son Andrew never dated, never had a fling, never so much as had a tiny makeout session.  Andrew withdrew himself from those sorts of things. There was some trauma baggage as part of the excuse, but the big number one reason was that he was afraid of his powers accidentally going haywire if he tried to be close with a normal person, afraid that person would get hurt. But now Andrew had this extremely hot man all up against him that not only  _wasn't normal_ , but seemed like he couldn't be hurt by Andrew's powers unless the teen went purposefully full-out with them.

This was like a fate thing. Andrew was  _desperately_ telling himself this was a fate thing.

He stopped struggling, and the glow of their powers faded. They were still close, breathing hard. Andrew's gaze drifted on its own accord to the thief's lips. This was wrong. This was  _so wrong_. Andrew internally fought hard not to act on his very stupid feelings. But Andrew making a move didn't end up being the problem. He apparently wasn't alone with the unfitting carnal emotions. It was the thief that acted, that suddenly clashed his lips against Andrew's. And with that collide the Avenger gave up the fight, melting into the taste and feel of a kiss he helplessly yearned for, yet he most definitely shouldn't be allowing.

"I don't even know your name." Andrew spoke quietly; a brief glimmer of sanity breaking through for but a second.

"Just call me Robin," the man said, and their lips heatedly met again, this time with a spark of white and blue.


	6. Impulsive

Andrew wasn't sure how he got into his current situation. Well, he knew how, but it had been a big blur full of superficial lust and stupidity. A series of unthought out decisions that first started with locking lips with a criminal. Then ending up on the back of that criminal's motorcycle. Then that foggy memory of somehow stealthily yet only half aware of stumbling into a hotel room with the criminal. Then  _things_ happening with said criminal in the room's king-size bed.

It had been a mistake. All of it.  Andrew logically knew that. This wasn't just a normal situation of people meeting in a bar and then going off to hook up when they barely knew each other.  This was him —Pulse, an Avenger, the son of Iron Man— hooking up with a criminal. A criminal he was specifically tasked with to take down. The smartest thing he could possibly do would be to get the hell out of that hotel and deny it ever happened, and then probably just go back home upstate and tell his dad someone else would do a better job catching the guy. But "smart thinking" wasn't entirely working yet. Andrew's body was still buzzing in gratification, so there he remained, naked and feeling happily sunken into the mattress even if his mind was actively questioning his own sanity. The equally naked "Robin" shifted beside him, laying on his side and bringing his hand up to glide his fingers over Andrew's chest. Fingers, Andrew knew very well he should be hitting away, but so help him he didn't.

"Well, that was...intense." Robin smirked.

"You're sure I didn't hurt you?" Andrew found himself questioning. The words flew out of his mouth before he could think. He should only be worrying about getting himself out of the situation, not worrying over the  _criminal's_  well being just because Andrew's powers had a mind of their own during the... when they were... God, he had sex with a superpowered thief! Andrew half-wanted to shrivel away into a black hole of shame, but he then also relished in the fact that he was able to have sex with anyone at all. Someone he didn't have to worry about his powers hurting.

"Are you kidding me? If I'm blessed with a next time, you need to just let yourself go, lindo. When you would glow....just,  _damn_ ," the man shuddered pleasantly to get his point across. "And I got the feeling you very much enjoyed when I brought my powers into play." The man smirked again and made his finger tips jolt with electricity as they continued to trace over Andrew's chest.

Andrew gasped and was immediately embarrassed, because it was mostly definitely a pleasured filled gasp. But Andrew couldn't help it, not with how the spark of energy lightly surging through him made his body hum.

"And hopefully next time," Robin went on, "I'll get to have my turn with you."

There was admittedly a short duel in Andrew's brain over whether that was a sweet plan or another bad idea, but finally reason was winning in his mind. He knocked away the man's hand and sat up. "No next time of any sort is gonna happen.  This was a mistake."

"Come on now," Robin sat up as well, "something that felt that good can in no way ever be labeled a mistake. But I get it: you're an Avenger, and I'm just some lowly archer of Sherwood Forest."

Even being in the predicament he was in, Andrew couldn't help but quietly laugh at the stupid joke.

"You have to believe that I'm not a bad guy," Robin went on in a more serious tone.

"I do. I did." Andrew looked anywhere except at the thief. "I don't know what I believe now. I obviously can't trust what I think because this was all really fucking stupid."

"Heh, it was wildly impulsive and against common sense sure, but I wouldn't call it stupid."

The words didn't help with Andrew's wavering regret. He hurriedly scooted out of bed and snatched up his boxers from the floor, quickly pulling them on. "Let's forget this happened." Andrew spoke as he sought out his other clothes scattered around the bed. "I'll give you a 'get out of jail free' card this time, and we go our separate ways. And maybe you stop with the stealing thing, and we won't have to see each other again." Andrew pulled on his shirt with a slight frown. He made his own gut feel punched; his crazy mind didn't want his last string of words to be true.

"What if I wanna see you again." Apparently Robin wasn't a fan of Andrew's words either. Andrew finally looked at the man again, Robin standing beside the bed now with his jeans on. "This doesn't have to be a mistake. You got the shame thing going on. I understand. But don't let it be because you think I'm some common thieving scum. I wasn't lying before. I really only am trying to help people. We're really not that different, you and I."

God, the way the guy's eyes softened as he spoke made Andrew want to melt. Despite what Andrew said earlier, he did still believe the man was robbing out of noble intentions. And that made the little detail of the guy still technically being a thief a little less bad, right? Maybe? Andrew hated this. He felt so torn in half. This was wrong, but he felt so drawn to the guy. As wrong as it was, it was even more so an intense attraction on a primal level. And maybe that attraction was stupid and selfish and just chemicals in his brain screwing up his rational thinking, but that attraction was real. There was no way Andrew was going to be able to think straight about what he should do, not in the presence of Robin's delightfully hot face and hot everything. Andrew needed to get out.

"Let's say I believe you. Even still, full disclosure: I don't know what the hell I'm doing," Andrew admitted. Why not? If he was a-okay being nakedly active with the guy just moments ago, admitting to a panicked cluelessness was nothing. "I need to leave. I need to think." Andrew quickly righted his shorts and sat at a desk chair to pull on his socks and shoes.

"Listen, I should tell you something." Robin stepped a little closer. He looked nervous; it made Andrew nervous. "I had every intention of telling you back at the alley, but... Fuck. No puedo hacer esto," Robin griped the words in Spanish to himself, and Andrew pretty much only understood the 'no'. "Nevermind. We should probably both skip out of here soon in case this room is booked."

"What? This isn't your room?"

Robin chuckled. "I guess I sorta had you distracted at the door. I broke in. Tiny electronic locks? I handled that with a touch of my finger."

Andrew squeezed his eyes shut and quietly groaned. Great. He could add breaking and entering to his list of fuck ups today. He hurried out of the chair and grabbed his hat and sunglasses from the desk. No more stupid talking with the criminal. Andrew just needed to get out now. He desperately needed to think straight. He brushed past the man toward the door, smashing his hat on. Andrew's hand reached the door knob when Robin spoke up again.

"Devin." He seemingly voiced the name randomly.

It made Andrew pause, and his curiosity allowed him to turn to face the man again. Andrew quirked his head to the side in confusion. "Huh?"

"Devin. It's my name. Devin Marquez." The man let out this sort of sigh of relief. "I want you to trust me, and I wanna trust you, so yeah... know my name. And know that I'm gonna be making an 'afterhours withdrawl' from the TD Bank on Queens Blvd. tonight around eleven. Believe me or not, and do what you will with that info. Someone innocent really needs the money, and I'm gonna help."

Andrew didn't know what to say to any of that. There were a few seconds of unsure gazing and awkward silence, and then with a sigh Andrew pulled on his sunglasses and dashed out the door.


	7. Trusting

It had been eight minutes past 11pm when Andrew saw a masked Devin waltz right into the bank he said he was going to rob. And all Andrew did was watch. Watch from the rooftop across the street. He was both mentally and verbally beating himself up over his decision to just let the robbery happen; as well as trying to justify it.

"It's all quiet up here," Peter's voice sounded in Andrew's comm. Andrew had insisted they split up to cover more ground tonight, keeping Peter completely in the dark about everything that had happened with the thief. "Should I start heading back to you?"

"No," Andrew answered, probably a little too quickly. He cleared his throat. "Uh, there's not anything going on here either. Why don't you keep heading west, and I'll start moving that way from down here. We'll meet up later. Call me if you spot the guy or anything too crazy."

"Yeah yeah yeah. I'm on it."

"Comms off," Andrew commanded, then sighed in guilt. "Dammit Zig, what the hell am I doing?"

_"You appear to be having a morality crisis on a rooftop, mate."_

"That's not what I mean," Andrew groaned. "It's not wrong if I'm just trying to find out if this guy is genuine right?" Andrew sighed to himself again.

So far this Devin Marquez had been telling the truth. He showed up at the bank right when he said he would. And earlier that evening Andrew had Danzig run a search on the man's name. The resulting DMV record put the man's younger-looking pictured face to the name. No criminal history popped up, but there was a police report. Specifically a missing person report on the man dating back almost four years ago filed by a Coleen Kelly —who was found out to be Devin's mother with a little more searching. The case was still labeled open, and that was odd, but one  _odd_ thing didn't equate to  _bad_.

So despite mixed feelings the young Avenger just watched on. Let Devin walk right back out of the bank and the short way to his motorcycle. Andrew didn't interfere, just followed the man from a safe enough distance and position in the air not to be noticed. He tailed the thief for about fifteen minutes then the man finally pulled over to a stop in front of cheap yet well kept apartment building. Andrew landed as discretely as he could —what with having to glow to fly— on the apartment building across the street. Devin only just turned off the engine and climbed off the bike when the main entrance door of the apartment flew open.

It was an old woman. Salt and pepper hair in a short bob, and she was wearing one of those 'typical grandma' floral patterned loose fitting house dresses and a pair of slippers. Her petite body moved with a surprising quickness down the short stoop to meet Devin on the otherwise vacant sidewalk. He kept his helmet on, but pushed the visor up. The two started to talk quietly, but Andrew couldn't make out a word from how far away he was.

"Let me hear 'em, Zig." Andrew ordered, and the A.I. promptly initiated the enhanced audio.

"...a promise, didn't I?" Devin's quiet words suddenly sounded in Andrew's ears. The man shifted his backpack to only hang on one shoulder and pulled the bag enough to his side where he could easily unzip it open. He took out a manila envelop that looked like it had something thick and chunky packed inside. "That should be enough to cover it and then some. You'll be set for the rest of the year." Andrew couldn't see the man's face from his vantage point, but the kid swore he could hear the gentle smile in the thief's voice.

"Oh my god," the woman sniffled. "You're an angel. An angel. We would have lost everything. Thank you. Thank you." She cried more and hugged her tiny frame to the man; he was at least a foot taller than her.

"Just take care of your family, hm?" Devin said warmly as they pulled away.

"Okay, I heard enough," Andrew sighed. "Before I start 'aw-ing' this guy, run a scan on that woman. Let's cover our bases. Just because it looks like he's saving an adorable little old lady doesn't mean she couldn't be like a mob boss or something. Don't judge a book cover and all that shit."

_"Janet Chen. No criminal record."_

"Nothing  _interesting_ surrounding her?"

" _There's a matter with her husband._ "

Andrew's eyes scanned over the information being displayed within his lenses. Mr. Chen was seemingly stuck in a legal battle over receiving workman's compensation after becoming disabled from a work accident. Stuck as in five years.

It appeared to be innocent people being screwed over by heartless assholes putting up endless red tape. And then Danzig pointed out that the insurance company part of the problem was one in the same that insured the bank.

"Shit. He is fuckin' Robin Hood. I don't know if I'm happy or not."

_"Are you trying to fool me or yourself? You_ _**wanted** _ _this to be true."_

"Dad should have programmed you with a little less snark."

_"You're changing the subject. What are your intentions with the thief now?"_

"Well I mean, if the guy's had reasons like this every time....is what he's doing really that bad."

_"I'm not programmed to weigh the worth of morals in dealings of lawbreaking. But from what you've told me I have easily accessed that you're quite keen on this young man."_

"Shut up. That doesn't matter."

_"It seems to matter to you."_

Andrew sighed. It shouldn't matter, but his smartass A.I. was right: it did matter to Andrew. The old woman was back inside, and Andrew leapt off the roof. He let himself free fall for a couple seconds before he brought his power to life and made himself soar like a bullet down at Devin. The man had been close to getting back on his motorcycle, but Andrew intercepted him, only slowing slightly to more precisely grab around Devin's middle and then shoot back up into the air. The flight was quick, Andrew only scooping the man up to bring him to the roof top of the Chens' apartment building. Andrew landed them on their feet and quickly released his hold on Devin, stepping back a few paces.

"Holy crap," Devin spoke in a hushed excitement. It was a safe bet that that had been the man's first experience with some assisted flying. He pulled off his helmet, as well as his mask underneath. "That was...wow. You sure do know how to sweep a guy off his feet." Devin's expression grew serious after his little joke. "You've been following me."

"Yeah," was Andrew's simple reply. He still didn't know what he was doing.

"So what is this then? A rooftop arrest? I won't fight back as long as you promise to leave those people downstairs outta this."

"No arrests. You're safe. From me at least." The honest words flew freely from Andrew's lips. "You really are Robin Hood."

"If that's what you wanna call me."

Silence engulfed them for a minute before Andrew spoke again. "As much as I feel myself not caring now about that lawbreaking side of what you're doing, my partner still will. The police. My dad. With me not getting the job done, he's just gonna send someone else in to catch you. So this is just me warning you, okay. Be careful. Or maybe just stop."

"I don't think stopping is an option I have," Devin spoke with a honorable tone. "So is this it then?"

"What do you mean?" Andrew questioned.

"Do you plan on never seeing me again?"

"I don't know," Andrew answered helplessly.

"I'd like to see you," Devin said openly. "But just in case this is the last time... Before, back at that alley, I told you I had two things I needed to tell you. I only said one: explaining my actions to you. That was the easier thing to say. The less important one. I flaked out on the other thing, and flaked out again at the hotel, but I can't leave you in the dark any longer."

Andrew stayed silent, an ever-growing nervousness inside him as he waited for Devin to continue.

"The first time I saw your picture, I recognized you." The man stared down at the helmet in his hands as he spoke.

"A lot of people recognize me," Andrew dismissed.

"I don't mean as Stark's little baby boy." Devin's eyes lifted to meet Andrew's goggle-covered ones. "I'm talking about from before. I'm talking about from where I got my powers, and where I'm assuming you got yours. Lethal Legion."

Andrew's heart felt like it sunk down into his gut at the mention of that prison. That hell. He was struck dumb by this revelation. He pulled his goggles up to rest atop his hair so he could look at the man clearly with his own two eyes. Andrew had never met another victim of that horrible place. He never sought out to. He never wanted to. Now he was face to face, and he didn't know what to think, how to think.

"I don't think I'd really recognize anyone else if I ran into them on the street, but you..." Devin went on, "you were burned into my memory. I had already been there for a while I guess. The stuff they did to me, to everyone else... it was hell. And then I see them drag you in that blue room. I was only eighteen myself at the time, but you were so little. It was bad enough what those freaks were doing to everyone already there, but you were just a  _kid_. They were about to  _torture a fucking kid_  and that just tore at my heart."

Andrew's mind was in a whirlwind. He didn't remember seeing Devin at that hell. But Andrew couldn't really recall anybody's face —except unfortunately for the bad people that hurt him. Even though the teen couldn't remember, there was absolutely no doubt in Andrew's mind that Devin was telling the truth. The memory of the horror of Lethal Legion was written all over the man's face; a look Andrew was all too familiar with seeing in the mirror. Andrew was shaken, but there was also a tiny anger building. Not having been told sooner made Andrew feel like he had been lied to some how.

"I wanna blast you off this roof right now. How could you not tell me this when we were first alone?"

"Well, 'Remember that torture place? I was there too', ain't exactly the best opener. I had every intention of letting you know, but I chickened out, alright? Plus, you're a pretty hot looking guy these days. You kinda distracted me." Devin shrugged with a helpless small smile. "And after that... _hotel stuff,_  I really felt like I owed it to you to tell you, but..." Devin sighed deeply. "You were already freaking out. And you know, even despite that your eyes still sparkled. But now they're not; now they're showing the memory of that place. And that hell isn't something I wanted you to have to think about. I didn't want...I  _don't_  want you to look at me only to think of that place."

"Is that where your mind goes when you see me?" Was the question that popped into Andrew's brain. His anger had waned from the man's words.

"No," Devin shook his head a little. "I think of how strong you must be to be who you are now. ...And admittedly there's the thought of:  _'Damn, he's fine. Ay lindo.'_ "

Andrew cracked a small brief smile, even despite how heavy a revelation this all was. "Shit, I don't know what to think right now. You were there," he said with an airy exasperation; the fact was truly sinking in. Suddenly Devin's missing person report from four years ago made sense. "Were you there when S.H.I.E.L.D. raided the building?"

"No. I only heard the whispers of that. I had already been finished with and sold." Devin showed a crooked frown. "It took a while, but I escaped."

Andrew had a million more questions, but he was feeling more overwhelmed. This man in front of him that Andrew had already felt so drawn to had a deeper connection all along. More than the powers that clashed and melded. Andrew was finally looking at someone that had been through the same thing he had. Someone who could understand. And though Andrew had never sought to find another victim, suddenly it just meant the world to him that Devin was there and had shared this with him. For the first time the anguish that dwelt deep inside waiting for its moments to spring to the forefront of his mind didn't feel as heavy. For the first time he didn't feel so alone having to live with it. Tears pooled in Andrew's eyes; not ones of distress, but ones of grateful relief.

"You were there," Andrew stated it again, this time with a heavier meaning, this time with his voice quieter and a small hitch in his throat. "I'm sorry."

Devin's eyes softened. "I'm sorry for both of us."

"I have no idea what to do right now," Andrew admitted with a helpless chuckle. He wiped at his eyes before any tears could spill.

"What do you  _want_ to do?" 

"Honestly? I'd really like to hug you," Andrew admitted. "I don't think that's weird, considering... _everything_."

"Not at all." Devin's words were accompanied with him dropping his helmet off to his side and stepping in closer to Andrew.

The pairs of arms that reached out were a little awkward at first, but the embrace that came from it was strong and comforting seemingly for both men involved. Andrew closed his eyes and let himself melt into it. He never would have imagined this was how his night of 'thief stalking' would end up. The hug only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to make Andrew feel soothed. It was quiet, and they were still close, their eyes locked.

"No te conozco y ya te necesito." Devin spoke quietly, almost a whisper.

_"I don't know you, and I already need you."_  Danzig chimed in with the translation in Andrew's ear.  _"I have also easily accessed that this young man is quite keen on you as well."_

Andrew resisted the urge to tell the A.I. to shut up and instead focused on those translated words. In truth, they made Andrew nervous; but they also made him fill with a dreamy warmth. "The plan is to see you again."


	8. Admitting the Madness

During the past three weeks Andrew's day times never had a moment of boredom anymore. It didn't matter if Peter and Jesse couldn't be around, because now Andrew had Devin.  Andrew saw him everyday at Devin's apartment, and in that time spent together Andrew quickly grew to truly know the "man behind the thief". Devin was this complete package of perfection —to Andrew at least. The man had the looks, humor, a caring heart. He was strong, confident, with such a macho rugged aura about him, yet he could turn into the most cheesy affectionate sap on the planet when it came to tender moments with Andrew. Andrew basked in those moments —even though he would sometimes make fun of Devin for the excessive mush. 

And really the lovesick teen reveled in any and all moments shared with the man. Cuddle time on Devin's lumpy futon sofa bed, where the touches would be soft and innocent and comforting, where they shared with each other their good memories and the bad.  When they ate crappy frozen dinners while they laughed at stand up comedy specials on TV. When they shared that physical intimacy, and nothing else existed besides one another and flashes of white and blue. When Devin would be a (playful) jerk and tease Andrew mercilessly. 

Andrew was smitten, and he was happy, even though he had to keep Devin a secret. On Devin's insistence today though they gambled on that secrecy.

"We did it," Devin grinned to Andrew beside him as they exited the movie theater and stopped together a few paces from the door. "First real date."

Andrew had his regular disguise of a ball cap and sunglasses on and silently urged Devin to get his sunglasses on as well by giving the man's hand that held them a little nudge. Going to the movies was a little risky, but it had been an early matinee and the theater didn't have many patrons at this time. It had been easy for Andrew to go unnoticed with Devin handling the tickets. Now they were out in the bright afternoon light, and with it Andrew's nerves over the situation bubbled up a little with it. But he certainly didn't regret the outing. A real date. Something "normal people"0- got to do. And being able to have a slice of this kind of normalcy in his life felt good.

"I haven't been on a real date since I was fifteen, and it was pretty much a disaster," Andrew chuckled lightly. "This was really nice though."

"It was," Devin agreed with an ever-present smile. "I really don't mind hiding away with you and having you all to myself, but this was pretty great to finally do." 

"We have to hide," Andrew said with a glum half-smile. 

"I know, but I'd say we make the best out of it." Devin showed a pert wink then moved in closer to plant a quick sweet kiss on Andrew's lips.

Andrew welcomed the action, but couldn't help but glance around a little paranoid after. The pair weren't exactly alone out on the street, but no passersby appeared to be paying them any attention. Andrew relaxed and smiled. "Thanks for this."

"Anytime, lindo. I'll see you tomorrow then? ...Maybe tonight if you can catch me." The man added mischievously.

"You're on," Andrew smirked back.

"Nos vemos, mi alma." Andrew melted at the words; he really came to love it when his boyfriend spoke Spanish —even if Andrew didn't understand the words half the time. Devin leaned in to deliver one more quick peck before he turned and started to walk off. "Have fun with your girlfriend," he called over his shoulder playfully.

Andrew rolled his eyes; he had let Devin know he was going to hang out with Jesse after their date. Jesse was most definitely more like a sister.  It had been about five days since he had gotten to see her last, and he was excited to finally visit her again. He was still keeping her in the dark about Devin, and Andrew felt guilty about it mostly with her. Jesse was his best friend, but Andrew reasoned with himself that keeping Devin a secret from  _everyone_  was what would keep his boyfriend the safest. 

~

Jesse's apartment living room was small and cozy. The walls were a deep burgundy with a few black and white abstract paintings and photo collages of friends and family decorating the room. Andrew sat comfortably slouched on the soft brown sofa with Jesse sprawled out on the rest of the cushions, her feet crossed and resting in Andrew's lap. Jesse was a tiny thing, only 5'1". She was a looker and fit and most definitely Italian with that olive tan skin of hers.  She wore a pair of black men's athletic shorts and a form hugging red tank top. The half tomboy look was her style. She sat up when she found what she was looking for on her phone. Her long curly hair fell messily around her face ending a few inches below her shoulders, dark brown hair just a shade shy of being black with a thick streak of pink framing one side of her face. 

"Here he is," she exclaimed as she scooted over to sit beside Andrew. She handed her phone over to her friend. The screen displayed a picture of a young man, the very epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. It was the young man Jesse had just started dating and had been gushing over to Andrew since he showed up to her apartment.

Andrew could definitely appreciate the guy's looks. "He's cute."

"Damn right he is. But wait it gets better..." She swiped the screen to show another picture of her beau, but this one had a practically identical young man smiling next to him with a different hair style. "He's got a twin!" Jesse exclaimed. "Single I might add. And I'm told he's bi so... Double date, motherfucker! What do you say? Us out with a couple of hottie twins. Don't be a loser. Tell me you're in."

"I dunno..."

"Come on, Andrew," she said with exasperation, her deep brown eyes boring into him. "I know you get nervous with this shit because of who you are, but god, you're more than just some celebrity Avenger. You're more than just Tony Stark's son. You gotta  _live_.  You gotta start giving people a chance to see  _you_. And it sure as fuck would do you some good if you got laid. You've been looking way too stressed out lately."

Andrew sighed before he delivered the disappointment. "I can't go out with this guy, okay? He's cute and everything, but things are just too complicated right now."

"That's a bullshit excuse. Since when are things  _not_ complicated with you?" She rolled her eyes.

Andrew sighed again. He really  _really_ didn't like keeping this secret from her. Andrew had reached the tipping point on the 'guilt scale'. Jesse was his best friend. If there was anyone he could trust not to try to turn Devin in, Jesse was it. She just spilled her guts about her new boyfriend; he should be able to do the same. "Okay don't be mad, but I've sorta kept a major developing plot twist from you. I'm kinda in a situation that's way more complicated than normal for me."

"Jesus, just spit it out."

"Well, it's actually because I'm getting laid that I'm a little stressed out," he cheekily admitted.

Jesse's jaw dropped a little, but then her lips quickly pulled into a grin. "Shit, son! About damn time! But wait," she collected herself. "Why stressed then?"

"It's just, he has to be a secret," he showed a lopsided frown.

"And why's that?"

"Um, I guess reason number one is to keep him safe."

"What? Is he still in the closet?" Jesse questioned.

"No."

"Then it's no excuse," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm your damn bestie, and I'm no safe guarded secret."

"Well, I don't think he would appreciate the shadowing security detail or enjoy flipping off the occasional paparazzi like you do."

Jesse grinned. "No harm in taking pride of ruining scumbags' photos. But what's reason number two?" 

"To save my own ass."

Jesse quirked a curious brow.  
  
Andrew sighed deeply. It was time to just fully admit to the madness he'd been living for almost a month. "First of all, don't hit me. Second of all, don't yell...The dude I'm seeing is sorta kinda the guy I'm supposed to be helping Spider-Man take down." He ended that admission with a wince, preparing himself for his friend's reaction.

It was another dropped jaw for Jesse. But she promptly reeled in her shock to deliver a swift smack to Andrew's shoulder, and then a scolding shout of his name. "Andrew!"

"Ow! Hey! That's hitting and yelling!"

"Deserved! Shit." She rubbed her hand down the side of her face as she let the news sink in. "So, a criminal? You're messing around with a criminal?"

"Technically, yes."

Andrew went on to explain Devin's noble motives. Defended him. He was grateful for the look on Jesse's face, eyes soft with understanding. She got it that Devin was a good man at heart. And now that Andrew was finally talking about the man, about his happy yet kind of crappy situation shared with him, Andrew couldn't shut up. He hadn't grasped just how much keeping the secret truly weighed on him. Finally airing his feelings —the happiness and the frustrations— made Andrew feel a relief he hadn't realized he needed.

"...I finally found someone I can  _be with_. That I can't hurt by accident. Someone who's like me. We've both been through some shit, and we can understand what's going on in each other's heads, you know? Plus he's so fucking hot,  _you have no idea_ ," Andrew gushed on. 

Jesse smiled just a little. "Alright loverboy, I get it. I get it." Then she turned serious. "And you get that he's a lawbreaking supercriminal and you're an Avenger. How's that supposed to work long term? Do you want it to work long term?"

Andrew's form sagged into the plush cushions. "Of course I do, I just..." he sighed. "This whole thing has just been, I dunno...happening really fast. Thinking ahead just kinda wasn't there, and I guess it still isn't. We're just living day-to-day. I don't know what we're gonna do."

Jesse looked off thoughtful for a moment before she spoke. "As I see it, you've only got two options here. You need to break it off with this guy before your feelings get any deeper. Or you've gotta convince him to stop."

"I'm not ending anything. I know it hasn't been long, but I love him, Jess. He's too important. But making him stop is probably going to be next to impossible."

"Well, I-" Jesse's phone chimed, and she paused to check the message. Her eyes widened in response to whatever she was looking at. "Shit." She finally breathed. "My friend just sent me a link," Jesse spoke eerily calm, still looking at the screen, "asking me if I have any details. Damn Andrew, you  _need_ to tell him to stop." She bit at her lip, handing the phone over.

Andrew couldn't help but hold his breath before he looked at the screen, and when he did it felt like all the air he held left him. There was a cropped picture of him and Devin mid kiss in front of the movie theater, and below it the start of an article.

_**Has Pulse's Heart Skipped a Beat?** _ _  
The Avengers' own Andrew Stark has been spotted leaving a Manhattan AMC movie theater in the company of an unknown young man. One of the included photos posted on social media late this afternoon shows the suspected couple sharing a kiss. Stark has consistently made no comment when asked about his relationship status through the years but has always been open about... **[read more]**_

"Shit." Andrew finally said, mimicking Jesse's reaction. This was bad. Really bad. Entertainment media was the fucking worst. At least it was already a publicly known fact he was gay, so that was one less thing Andrew didn't have to fret over.

"Well, I'm glad you told me before the internet did...?" Jesse offered the tiny silver-lining with a wincing smile.

Andrew's own phone buzzed in his pocket before his brain could think of anything to say back. He shoved Jesse back her phone and quickly grabbed his. He paled at the notification displayed on the screen; it was a call from his dad.

"I'm so fucked."


	9. Guilt and Nerves

Andrew had cowardly —or maybe  _intelligently_ — ignored Tony's call. The subsequent message his dad left surprisingly didn't involving screaming about a secret boyfriend. His dad just had the same fast normal tone he always did, saying he'd be at the penthouse in twenty minutes. That declaration admittedly childishly terrified Andrew, because maybe Tony just wanted to scream at him face-to-face, but then his dad had stated he needed to talk to both him  _and Peter_. Andrew hoped it meant that this was just going to be a talk about their mission, that Tony wasn't aware of the internet gossip yet. Maybe Andrew could still have a chance to come clean himself.

If he could work up the nerve.

Andrew and Peter sat across from each other at the dining room table in the Stark penthouse, a bag of chips between them. Tony was running a little late, and Andrew was doing his best to keep his anxiousness buried and focus on their conversation.

"I dunno, I just kinda wish he didn't call me 'kid' all the time," Peter griped before popping a chip into his mouth.

Andrew couldn't help but be knocked from his inner turmoil. The words made him smile. "Ah," Andrew chuckled as he thought back, "that's all he would call me for like four months straight. Eventually we progressed to 'punk' and like almost three years later we're still there. I gotta be honest with you though, I see the whole 'kid thing' sticking with you basically forever. Seriously, you  _do_ look twelve." he teased with a impish smile.

"Hey man!" Peter said with mock-offense, a slight laugh to his voice.

"Really though," Andrew went on, his smile turning soft. "It means he cares about you."

Peter smiled genuinely then, and Andrew took in the kid's presence. Peter Parker just happy to hear he was cared about by the man he admired. Peter Parker sincere and innocent and honest. Andrew suddenly felt a little 'less than'. He really had been lying to Peter worst of all with this secret boyfriend situation. Almost a month of dishonest hindrance. Almost a month of just pretending to try to catch the electric thief. Letting Devin get away. Guilt was starting to overflow, but Andrew sure as hell couldn't come clean about that. But he had to spill  _something_ to Peter or Andrew was going to explode.

"I have muon energy laced in my DNA," Andrew had his eyes focused down on the table as he seemingly blurted this guarded fact out of nowhere. 

"Wha...what?" Peter cocked his head to the side in confusion, staring Andrew down.

Andrew looked to the boy before he repeated himself. "My powers, I have muon energy laced in my DNA...or something like that. I'm not good with the technical stuff. You know I'm not very science-y myself."

"Wow," Peter breathed. "Wow. Wait, like that's what powers Mr. Stark's suit. How... Did, did he make you this way?" Peter's eyes grew wide with wonder and a little touch of concern.

"Sorta. It was an accident." Andrew took a deep breath before he went on to explain, but really Andrew didn't feel hard-pressed to talk about it. This was just Peter, and it was about time the kid knew and understood where his 'big brother' came from. "Before he adopted me, he saved me from a really bad place, from some really bad people. It stayed outta the news. I was trapped there for four months. Me and a lot of other people. We were basically lab rats." Andrew looked down at his hands on the table top as he went on, his thumb lazily picking at his other fingernails. "It was the whole held captive by evil scientists thing, and being tortured and pumped full of drugs to be sold as an enhanced living weapon. You know, that whole shtick. They were close to giving me some kind of power or maybe just killing me. Dad stopped it, but gave me the suit's power by accident when he did." Andrew looked back up when he was finished. He didn't want to go in to any great details about Lethal Legion. He didn't want to risk giving himself a panic attack, or risk giving Peter any fuel for graphic nightmares.

For once Peter was speechless for a moment. "I'm sorry," he said softly at last, his eyes pooling with sadness and empathy. "Man, I'm sorry if this is rude or whatever, but you're even more awesome to me. After living through that...you became a hero."

Andrew showed appreciation of the words with a warm smile. Peter really was one of the kindest people on the planet. "Thanks Pete. I'm still pretty screwed up in the head because of everything, but things are better."

"Well, I'm never gonna complain about my spider again," Peter said in playful sheepishness.

"Hey, I wasn't trying to start a 'who had it worse?' competition. But I mean, obviously, I was me," Andrew joked, ever grateful his brain was staying comfortably composed about the subject matter while talking with Peter. "However we got here... we are who we are. And I'd say we're both pretty fuckin' awesome."

Peter smiled, but then took a second to chew at his lip. "Do you ever wish you were normal?"

"Sometimes," Andrew admitted. "Do you?"

"Yeah." Peter let out a small sigh and relaxed back in his chair more. "I mostly do alotta small things, you know. But there'd be some people who'd be dead now or really hurt if I wasn't the me I am now. I have to be Spider-Man. I supposed to be Spider-Man."

"I get it. But don't forget to be Peter too. That's just as important."

It looked like Peter was going to say something back, but the pair's heart-to-heart was cut short in the form of Tony waltzing into the room. Peter addressed his mentor instead. "Hey, Mr. Stark."

"Kid. Punk." Tony greeted each young man.

Andrew impulsively stuffed his mouth full of chips like that would stop him from having to spill his secret to this father. He simply gave Tony a nod in greeting.

"Sorry I'm late, tater tots," Tony came to a stop at the end of the table between the boys. He stayed standing, letting his fingertips press against the table top. "There's just a couple things I need to go over before anybody tries to talk at me," Tony specifically eyed Peter, who had just started to open his mouth. The kid clamped his lips together tightly. "Alright," Tony went on, "first thing: I need to look you both in the face and you need to seriously tell me your chances of bringing down this electric robber. Three failed run-ins with his guy. All this 'we just need more time' malarkey, I'm kind of starting not to buy it. No shame in admitting you don't have the right abilities to handle it. I underestimated this guy myself. He's still technically a low level threat: nighttime burglary. But he's powerful, and it's only a matter of time before he realizes just how powerful he really is. That he could do much more than knock off banks."

Andrew felt a little relief. It was appearing to be all 'job talk'. Now hopefully he could bring up Devin on his own terms before his dad found out through internet rumors.

"And the second thing," Tony said offhandedly as he then navigated through his phone. "Maybe there's one of you boys in particular that could fill in the blanks on something for me... _Devin Kelly Marquez._ "


End file.
